William



W. T. PETERSEN.

BOTTLE CLOSURE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 11. 1919.

Patented Aug. 19, 1919.

NV HT R E yflvw H' ATT RN Y winnianr mam-Eases, or SAN Jess, cALironnrA.

f s eemearjmii o e t s at n Patented Aug. 19, 1919.

-- 1:..-..App1ieation filed February 17,1919. .Seria1No.:277,622.

To all whomit may concern; 5

vBe it known-that I, 'WILLIAMJT. Pran SEN'J a citizen of the United'States, and a resident of San Jose, vin- -t he county: of

' Santa Clara and StateofflCalifornia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bottle-Closures, of which the following is a: specification;

In those forms of bottle closures now in general use more or less-complicated and eX- pensive machinery is required. for al'lixing .or inserting the closure, and the closure itself is a somewhat expensive article inasmuch as special machinery is required for its production and it .must be discarded when once used, Furthermore many bot tles are broken when having their closures 'affixed by machinery, thereby causing a loss in time and materials as well as creating an unsanitary and disagreeable condition of affairs through the spilling of liquids. A

further objection to the majority of bottle closures, especially those used in bottling liquors, is that they are diflicult to remove and in most cases require the use of a special implement. I

It is the object of my invention to provide a bottle closure that will successfully overcome all of the difliculties and objections above set forth; that will be simple in form, easily inserted without special machinery, attractive in appearance, and easily removed without a special implement; and that can be easily recovered after use and the same materials used over and over again.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel and useful provision, formation, construction, combination and relative arrangement of parts, members and features all as hereinafter described, shown in the drawings, and finally pointed out in the claims.

Attached securely a hole a formed in a boss or peg '5 on the upper surface'of member 1. WVhen themember 1 thus supplied with a handle, is dropped into the position shown .in the figures, melted paraffin is poured into the neck of the bottle and upon member -1 .untiltheneck of the bottle is filled to the top as indicated at 6. When the paraffin becomes cold and hard and the member '1 hasswollenslightlyby the absorption of moisture from the contents of the bottle, a closure is formed that is a perfect seal and that cannot be removed from the bottle neck by pressure from within the bottle or by simply pulling upon handle 3. The

closure may be readily removed, however, by breaking up or loosening the paraffin 6 and drawing member 1 out by means of handle 3. The member 1 with its handle 3 may be used again and again, and the paraffin may be re-melted and used over again so that all loss from this source is reduced to a minimum. In most cases it is desirable that the thickness of the paraflin be at least twice that of the supporting member 1.

There may be occasions, especially where the bottled goods are liable to be exposed to an unusual temperature for some time, when the paraflin may soften slightly and thereby reduce the effectiveness of the closure. When it is thought that the 'closure may be subjected to such conditions then a thin covering of some suitable substance having a higher melting point than paraflin, such as sealing wax, is poured on the surface of the paraffin as shown at 7 thereby insuring a perfect seal under all conditions of the atmosphere, and adding but slightly to the cost and practically nothing at all to the labor of removing the closure.

It is conceivable of course that a closure of this kind might be made in its entirety, and then inserted in the neck of the bottle and effectually sealed by the application of heat but the method hereinbefore described is considered to be the most desirable.

It is understood that changes in form, construction, materials, proportions and method of forming the closure described may be made within the scope of the appended claims. It is further understood that other substances than the paraflin may be used in conjunction with the member 1, therefore I use the word waxy to designate a material having substantially the same consistency and adhesive qualities as paraflin wax. Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A closure for bottles comprising a body of waxy material adapted to adhere to theinterior of the bottle neck, a supporting member for said waxy material loosely engaging said bottle neck and separating said waxy material from the contents of said bottle and of less thickness than said body or waxy material, and a handle embedded in said waxy material secured to said supporting member and extending beyond the neck of the bottle.

2. A closure for bottles comprising a supporting member adapted to be expanded through the absorption of moisture and adapted to loosely engage the interior of the bottle when inserted therein and tightly engage the same when expanded, a handle se- In testimony whereof I have hereunto afiixed my signature this 8th day of February, 1919.

WILLIAM T. PETERSEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0." t 

